UFCW 3000 Member Speaks Out: “Our Communities Benefit When People Are Fed and Healthy”
/Earlier this month, UFCW 3000 member Richard Talbot, a grocery worker at Fred Meyer #25 in Bellingham, joined Washington Congresswoman Suzan DelBene and a group of SNAP recipients, food bank staff, educators, and community advocates at the Arlington Community Food Bank to talk about the devastating cuts to nutrition assistance in the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” (BBB).
The roundtable gave voice to people who are directly impacted — including workers like Talbot, who see firsthand how these programs shape the health of our communities.
“Hearing firsthand how little money each recipient of SNAP benefits receives monthly — around $60–$100 — really highlights how much impact such a small sum can have,” Talbot said. “For many on the program it’s the difference between eating fresh vegetables once in a while instead of the highly processed but cheap food they’d normally have to live on.”
He added that SNAP doesn’t just help families make ends meet — it supports farmers and food producers, too: "It was surprising to me to find out how much SNAP actually impacts communities — from benefit recipients to the farmers that contract with food banks to provide nutritious, local produce for those who will struggle if these contracts are forced out due to the budget cuts."
As a grocery worker, Talbot also sees the ripple effects of hunger every day. “The people who have to rely on these benefits aren’t able to stretch them as far as they used to with costs going up like they have,” he said. “There is a direct link between poverty rates and crime in any given community — more hungry people equals more theft. Eventually, the theft will upgrade to more major crimes. Desperation is one hell of a motivator, and we’re about to see a lot of desperate people in the next few years.”
Our union knows that healthy, fed families strengthen our communities — and we are committed to fighting back against these devastating cuts. The roundtable made it clear: this fight isn’t just about food on the table, it’s about keeping our communities safe, healthy, and whole.
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